Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery

Museum Service in Norfolk

'The ancient Norman Keep of Norwich Castle dominates the city of Norwich below. Once a royal palace, the Castle is now the centrepiece of a museum housing one of England's finest regional collections of natural history, art and archeology which intrigues and inspires visitors of all ages.'

Norwich Museum was founded in 1824, as part of a Literary Institute (set up in 1822). It was originally housed within the Institute, moving to new premises in 1833 and 1837 when it outgrew its old ones, and eventually moved into Norwich Castle (opened 1894).

In 1956 Norwich Castle Museum sold most of its extensive 'foreign collections' to Liverpool Museum. These were wide ranging ethnographic collections that included material from Oceania, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In many cases the Norwich Castle Museum accession numbers are still associated with the objects, as are the names of the original donors. However, the associated documentation, correspondence for example, remains at Norwich. It should also be noted that many Norwich numbers were assigned retrospectively in 1924, and so it is possible that errors occurred.

Publications and other information held at Norwich Castle Museum include:

Green, EB (undated, unpublished paper) 'History of the N & N Museum and NCM to World War II'.

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